Today In Charleston History: August 14

1743-Slavery. Executions

A Mr. Snowden was set on fire by a Negro man, who was convicted and publicly burned to death.

1774

The Sunday morning departure of Christopher Gadsden and Thomas Lynch to Philadelphia to attend the Continental Congress created a stir in Charlestown. Most of the clergy were on the side of the Revolutionaries. However, Rev. John Bullman, assistant minister at St. Michael’s Church, boldly preached a sermon titled “The Christian Duty of Peaceableness.” In a thinly veiled reference to the Boston Tea Party, he stated it was not the place of “a silly clown or illiterate mechanic (Sam Adams) to meddle in the affairs of princes and governors.” He called Gadsden and Lynch both “traitors.” Unfortunately for Bullman, many Charlestonians were sympathetic to the Boston resistance. The vestry voted 42-33 and dismissed him from the pulpit.

1863

The Commission for the Removal of Non-Combatants submitted a list of “Camp-Grounds” prepared to receive refugees around South Carolina, which included: Summerville, Ridgeville, Branchville and St. Matthews.

1901

Charleston sold 170 acres of land along the Cooper River to the United States for $200 per acre for the construction of a naval facility.